Byron Paine (October 10, 1827 – January 13, 1871) was an American lawyer, judge, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1867 until his death in 1871, and also served on the court from 1859 to 1864, interrupting his judicial service to become an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As a lawyer, he was responsible for two of the most important civil rights cases of early Wisconsin history—He represented abolitionist Sherman Booth in the case of Ableman v. Booth at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in which the Wisconsin court chose to nullify enforcement of the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. He later represented Ezekiel Gillespie in the 1866 case of Gillespie v. Palmer, which resulted in the Wisconsin Supreme Court extending voting rights to African Americans in Wisconsin.[1]

The Honorable
Byron Paine
Associate Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
September 1867 – January 13, 1871 (death)
Appointed byLucius Fairchild
Preceded byJason Downer
Succeeded byWilliam P. Lyon
In office
June 1, 1859 – August 1864
Preceded byAbram D. Smith
Succeeded byJason Downer
Chief Clerk of the Wisconsin Senate
In office
January 9, 1856 – January 14, 1857
Preceded bySamuel G. Bugh
Succeeded byWilliam Henry Brisbane
Personal details
Born(1827-10-10)October 10, 1827
Painesville, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 13, 1871(1871-01-13) (aged 43)
Monona, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin
Spouse
Clarissa R. Wyman
(m. 1854⁠–⁠1871)
Children
  • James Percy Paine
  • (b. 1856; died young)
  • Norman Paine
  • (b. 1858; died young)
  • Arthur Paine
  • (b. 1860; died young)
  • Wendell Wyman Paine
  • (b. 1862; died 1887)
  • George Wyman Paine
  • (b. 1866; died 1937)
  • Byron Dixon Paine
  • (b. 1871; died 1931)
Parents
  • Gen. James H. Paine (father)
  • Marilla Paine (mother)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Volunteers
Union Army
Years of service1864–1865
RankLt. Colonel, USV
Unit43rd Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Early life and career

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Paine was born in Painesville, Ohio, to General James H. Paine and Marilla Paine.[2] He moved to Milwaukee in 1847 with his father and studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1849, and entered a legal partnership, Jas. H. Paine & Sons, with his father and his brother, Hortensius.[3]

As a young lawyer, he was a close friend of the abolitionist Sherman Booth. And in 1854, when Booth was on trial for violating the Fugitive Slave Act, Paine represented him as his lawyer without compensation. Paine argued on his behalf in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in the case of Ableman v. Booth.[2]

At Paine's funeral, Justice Harlow S. Orton remarked that he had, "made one of the clearest, most conclusive and most eloquent arguments against the constitutionality of the fugitive slave law made in any court in the country." Paine won the case and became the only lawyer to successfully argue that fugitive slave laws violated the sovereignty of the northern states. Although the United States Supreme Court did eventually overrule the Wisconsin decision.[2]

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward George Ryan, who had opposed Paine in the Booth case as attorney for the United States, said of him:[2]

The first opportunity I had of forming an estimate of his high ability, was in the famous case under the fugitive slave act, in 1854 and 1855. He was employed for the defendant; I, for the United States. We both brought to the case, not only ordinary professional zeal, but all the prejudices of all our lives. He was a frank and manly abolitionist. I was as decidedly what was called pro-slavery. We were both thoroughly in earnest... I thought him a fanatic. He probably thought me one. Possibly we both were.

In the 1856 session of the Wisconsin Senate, Paine served as Chief Clerk. In 1857 he was elected Judge in Milwaukee County, where he served until his election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1859.[2][4]

Civil War service

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Paine's term on the Supreme Court was set to expire in 1865, but in the midst of the American Civil War, in 1864, Paine chose to resign from the Court and enlist with the Union Army.[4][5] He was commissioned as lieutenant colonel for the newly raised 43rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, serving under Colonel Amasa Cobb.[4] The regiment was assigned to Tennessee to defend railroad and supply lines, and saw some combat during the Franklin–Nashville Campaign near the end of the war.[2][6]

Later years and 2nd Supreme Court term

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After the Civil War, Paine returned to Milwaukee and resumed practicing law. During this period, he participated in another significant civil rights case, when he represented Ezekiel Gillespie in the 1866 case of Gillespie v. Palmer. Gillespie was a former slave who attempted to vote in Milwaukee in 1865, but was turned away. Paine argued that Wisconsin had granted voting rights to African Americans through an 1849 law and referendum, which had been ignored for the previous 17 years. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Gillespie's favor, ruling that African Americans had the right to vote in Wisconsin.[7][8]

In 1867, Jason Downer, who had succeeded Paine on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, resigned. Wisconsin Governor Lucius Fairchild appointed Paine to fill the vacancy. Paine served on the Supreme Court until his death in January 1871.[4]

Family and personal life

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Byron Paine was the third of at least four children born to General James H. Paine and his wife Marilla. James Paine was an attorney and newspaper editor, and was an avowed abolitionist. While living in Painesville, Ohio, he was a member of an 1834 citizens committee assigned to investigate the origin of the Book of Mormon—their finding was that it was a fiction.[9]

Byron Paine married Clarissa Wyman in 1854. They had six sons, but only three survived infancy. In addition to his legal pursuits, Paine was an avid reader and enjoyed studying theology.

Paine died at age 44 on January 13, 1871, at his home in Monona, Wisconsin, after suffering for two months from Erysipelas and Pneumonia.[4][10]

Electoral history

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Wisconsin Supreme Court (1859)

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1859[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 5, 1859
Republican Byron Paine 40,500 51.36%
Democratic William Pitt Lynde 38,355 48.64%
Plurality 2,145 2.72%
Total votes 78,855 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic


Wisconsin Supreme Court (1868)

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 1868[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 7, 1868
Nonpartisan Byron Paine (incumbent) 71,908 52.09%
Nonpartisan E. Holmes Ellis 66,143 47.91%
Plurality 5,765 4.18%
Total votes 138,051 100.0%

References

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  1. ^ Ranney, Joseph (November 1, 2002). "Concepts of Freedom: The Life of Justice Byron Paine". Wisconsin Lawyer. Vol. 75. Wisconsin Bar. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Byron Paine". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  3. ^ "Paine, Byron, 1827-1871". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Death of Byron Paine". The Watertown News. Watertown, WI. January 18, 1871. p. 3. Retrieved August 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Judge Byron Paine". The Wisconsin Lumberman. Stevens Point, WI. August 17, 1864. p. 3. Retrieved August 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Quiner, Edwin Bentley (1866). "Regimental History – Forty-Second to Forty-Third Infantry". The Military History of Wisconsin. Chicago: Clarke & Co. pp. 859–860. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "Ezekiel Gillespie: The Man Who Wanted to Vote". February 18, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Gillespie v. Palmer, 20 Wis. 544 (Wisconsin Supreme Court January 1866).
  9. ^ "Paine, James H." The Joseph Smith Papers. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "Hon. Byron Paine". The Telegraph-Courier. January 19, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved October 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "The Official Canvass–Nearly 40,000 Votes Thrown Out–Unparalleled Blunders of the County Canvassers–The Result Unchanged". Wisconsin State Journal. May 6, 1859. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Official Vote". Semi-Weekly Wisconsin. June 13, 1868. p. 1. Retrieved January 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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Wisconsin Senate
Preceded by Chief Clerk of the Wisconsin Senate
January 9, 1856 – January 14, 1857
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
1859 – 1864
Succeeded by
Preceded by Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
1867 – 1871
Succeeded by